The petition on MoveOn.org says that StudentsFirst, a national organization promoting education reform, should have taken back Ragan’s award after it was pointed out that he co-sponsored the Classroom Protection Act during this spring’s legislative session. Critics described the bill as the latest in a string of “Don’t Say Gay” measures that would have restricted conversations about homosexuality in schools.

Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, said he signed onto the bill with the intention of amending it into a school-safety initiative.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/petition-criticizes-studentsfirst-not-rescinding-award-to-john-ragan/feed/0John Ragan says criticism over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill unfairhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/john-ragan-says-criticism-over-dont-say-gay-bill-unfair/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/john-ragan-says-criticism-over-dont-say-gay-bill-unfair/#commentsFri, 03 May 2013 15:00:02 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=19367State Rep. John Ragan says he is irked critics have brought up the “Don’t Say Gay” bill again after he was named state Reformer of the Year by StudentsFirst, a national organization that advocates changes to the education system.

Ragan sponsored the House version of Senate Bill 234, the latest in a string of bills filed by state Sen. Stacey Campfield dealing with discussions of homosexuality in schools.

The legislation generates controversy annually. But in an interview this week with the Knoxville News Sentinel, Ragan argued he wanted to do something completely different with the bill, formally known as the Classroom Protection Act, and would have rewritten it before it ever came up in the House.

There appears to be at least a kernel of truth to this. In what has to be one of the cleverest bait-and-switch moves by a state lawmaker in years, Ragan prepared an amendment that would have turned “Don’t Say Gay” into a school-safety measure — a response to the school shooting in Connecticut and elsewhere. Ragan even had a helpful spreadsheet ready that showed details of school shootings going back into the 1990s.

Copies of the amendment were handed out to the press, though a House subcommittee nonetheless refused to hear it. That misfortune has given everyone the wrong idea about him, Ragan told KNS:

Ragan said he resented that no one making critical comments had contacted him, instead making assumptions and extrapolating on others comments “to make it sound like I’m doing something I’m not doing” and that he is anti-gay when that is not the case.

“I’m enough of a Libertarian that, if it’s in private and no one is hurt, that’s between them, their family and their creator. I truly don’t care,” he said.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/john-ragan-says-criticism-over-dont-say-gay-bill-unfair/feed/0Don’t Say Gay, helmet bills deferred in Tenn. legislaturehttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/dont-say-gay-helmet-bills-deferred-in-tenn-legislature/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/dont-say-gay-helmet-bills-deferred-in-tenn-legislature/#commentsTue, 21 Feb 2012 18:38:03 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=16225House lawmakers delayed discussion of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill for a week on Tuesday. A bill that would undo the state’s helmet law was also deferred.

State Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, asked the House Education Committee to put off the “Don’t Say Gay” bill without offering any explanation. Opponents are planning a rally at the state Capitol later Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a bill which would allow motorcyclists age 21 or older to ride without a helmet was delayed for a week in the House Transportation Committee’s general subcommittee Tuesday afternoon. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, had generated dissent from state transportation and health care organizations.

UPDATE: Education Committee Chairman Richard Montgomery announced the bill would be moved to a “curriculum calendar” that will be taken up later in session. He gave no date when.

ORIGINAL POST: State Rep. Joey Hensley said this morning that he is planning to roll HB 229, the so-called Don’t Say Gay bill, at the request of House Education Committee Chairman Richard Montgomery.

The Tennessee Equality Project, a gay rights group, was planning to bring 100 people dressed in purple to the hearing on the bill scheduled for this afternoon. Chris Sanders, chairman of the group’s Nashville committee, said it was calling off the protest, though a few members may still turn out for the House Education subcommittee meeting where it was scheduled to be heard.

Hensley said he plans to package the bill, which restricts discussions about homosexuality in elementary and middle schools, with other curriculum legislation. He projected the delay will be for about three weeks.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/joey-hensley-says-he-plans-to-delay-dont-say-gay-bill/feed/0Don’t Say Gay bill up for debate Wednesdayhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/dont-say-gay-bill-up-for-debate-wednesday/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/dont-say-gay-bill-up-for-debate-wednesday/#commentsTue, 17 Jan 2012 18:07:26 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=15814The first big controversy of the 2012 legislative session (Let’s not count redistricting, which was kind of an appetizer) looks like it’s going to be the one that wrapped up the last session — the so-called Don’t Say Gay bill that deals with discussions of homosexuality in middle and elementary schools.

The measure, SB 49/HB 229, passed the Senate late last session, but there was some doubt then whether it’s sponsor, state Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, would run it in the House of Representatives this year. Now the bill has a new sponsor, state Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, who says he stepped in because he believes the bill has the support to pass.

“Rep. Dunn is carrying some other very important education legislation for the governor,” Hensley said. “We didn’t want people in the media and other people to get it mixed up … so we felt like it would be easier for me to run it.”

The bill is slated to come up at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the House Education subcommittee, which Hensley chairs. He says he will open debate on the measure Wednesday and hopes to vote it out to the full House Education Committee by the end of the meeting.

Opponents of the measure are prepared. The Tennessee Equality Project says it will bring 100 people wearing purple to show their displeasure with the measure.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/dont-say-gay-bill-up-for-debate-wednesday/feed/0FACT, Tennessee Equality Project spar over anti-bullying billhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/fact-tennessee-equality-project-spar-over-anti-bullying-bill/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/fact-tennessee-equality-project-spar-over-anti-bullying-bill/#commentsFri, 30 Dec 2011 20:55:50 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=15622Last session it was the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Now the battle lines are being drawn up over another bill that deals with discussion about homosexuality in schools.

The Family Action Council of Tennessee said in a newsletter emailed to supporters this week that one of its top priorities for 2012 will be passage of legislation that changes the state’s anti-bullying law “to make sure it protects the religious liberty and free speech rights of students who want to express their views on homosexuality.” The Tennessee Equality Project, a gay rights organization, has already sounded off on the measure, calling it “a ‘license to bully’ that allows them to hide their irrational biases behind an extreme religious belief.”

It’s not clear yet whether the bill, SB 760/HB 1153, is going anywhere. Last year, it went no further than being assigned to subcommittees in each chamber, and one of its sponsor, state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, said Friday that he hasn’t given the measure any thought since the legislature adjourned in May.

“We’ll look at it when we get there in January,” he said.

But the language of the bill suggests plenty of room for fireworks. The measure would explicitly protect the expression of religious, philosophical or political viewpoints, even if they are unpopular with students, teachers and school officials.

“Oftentimes, people that express that viewpoint become quote ‘bullied’ by administrators that do not share their views,” said David Fowler, FACT’s president.

The measure also says that anti-bullying curriculums and materials should not endorse a viewpoint and that they should focus on the actions of the perpetrator, not the characteristics of the victim.

This raises some practical questions. Would schools be allowed to punish students who use slurs but don’t actually threaten harm? What about statements in which the slur was included in a religious statement, as in “God hates …”? (Members of a Kansas church frequently use this very phrasing in protest signs. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld their right to protest near the funerals of service members.)

Fowler’s response: Slurs would probably still be considered threatening in most cases, but some statements – particularly those that are religious in nature – would be protected.

“I think you have to look at the particular circumstances, and it could be yes in some cases,” he said. “In other circumstances, the answer could be no. … That’s where in the law we’re trying to strike the proper balance between words that are truly threatening versus constitutionally protected words that people find offensive and insulting.”

Writing on a TEP website, board president Jonathan Cole said supporters of such legislation are “using children as pawns for social, religious and political agendas.”

“We need to be focusing on ways to ensure that Tennessee students receive an education free from bullying, harassment and intimidation,” he wrote. “The health and welfare of Tennessee children may depend on it.”

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/fact-tennessee-equality-project-spar-over-anti-bullying-bill/feed/2George Takei offers his solution to “Don’t Say Gay” billhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/george-takei-offers-his-solution-to-dont-say-gay-bill/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/george-takei-offers-his-solution-to-dont-say-gay-bill/#commentsThu, 19 May 2011 18:25:51 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=13998George Takei, the actor who played Sulu on “Star Trek” and gay rights activist, is out today with a YouTube spot in which he offers opponents of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill a solution to its prohibition on teaching about homosexuality in elementary and middle school.

“Anytime you need to say the word ‘gay’ you can simply say ‘Takei’,” he offers. “For example, you can safely proclaim you’re a supporter of Takei marriage. If you’re in a more festive mood, you can march in a Takei Pride parade. Even homophobic slurs don’t seem so hurtful as if someone says, ‘That is soooo Takei.’”

The spot:

The bill, SB 49, remains on today’s calendar for the Senate, which has adjourned until 4 p.m.

Senators approved a measure this morning by a 28-0 vote that calls on the state Department of Education to study Tennessee’s sex ed curriculum and deliver a report to the legislature next February. The measure is a reaction to the so-called Don’t Say Gay bill, SB 49, which would bar discussion of homosexuality until high school.

SB 49 is still alive, way down near the bottom of the Senate’s calendar for the day. But the bill has already been deferred to 2012 in the House, and there’s a decent chance senators will do the same when the bill finally comes up.

Update: The Senate adjourned for the day without taking up SB 49. It’s on the calendar for Thursday. The protesters supposedly will be back again.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/senate-approves-bill-to-study-sex-ed-curriculum/feed/10“Don’t Say Gay” bill draws protests, fails to advancehttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/dont-say-gay-bill-draws-protests-fails-to-advance/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/dont-say-gay-bill-draws-protests-fails-to-advance/#commentsWed, 11 May 2011 16:41:41 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=13930Senate Bill 49, which opponents have labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is drawing more and more fire, even as the measure appears to have become bogged down in the state legislature.

The bill has been getting a lot of attention lately, especially since Fox News did a piece on it in late April. In the last few days, a couple of Facebook campaigns (click here and here) has started up to try to get local students to oppose the legislation, and an activist handed out T-shirts opposing the bill at local high schools Monday and Tuesday mornings. (Update: Also last night’s “Daily Show”, which plays off the Fox report. See the 2:55 mark.)

Those efforts have raised awareness about the bill around town. About three dozen students from three downtown Nashville high schools — University School of Nashville, Hume-Fogg and Martin Luther King — lined Charlotte Avenue in front of the state Capitol this morning to protest the bill, which is meant to forbid any discussion of sexuality other than heterosexuality before the ninth grade. The group then filed into the Senate gallery this morning to watch debate on the bill.

The Senate adjourned for the day without ever taking up the bill — the fourth time this has happened in the last two weeks. The measure is also bottled up in committees in the state House of Representatives.

Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, nonetheless is still pressing for a vote on the bill this year. If he gets it, and if it passes the Senate, Campfield told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he hopes it’ll lead the House to take the measure up next year.